Gallup survey profiles 'average' annuity owner for 2009

A new survey released by the Gallup Organization and the Mathew Greenwald & Associates has found that the most average non-qualified annuity owner is a middle-class woman in her 70s who feels it was a safe purchase.

The survey, which has been conducted nine times since 1992 and was developed for the Committee of Annuity Insurers, was compiled through the surveying of 1,003 owners of non-qualified annuity contracts.

Among the findings from the survey was that the average age of an annuity owner had increased four years since the last time the poll was taken from 66- to 70-years-old. The survey also found that the average age of the respondents when they bought their first annuity was 52-years-old, and that 79 percent had purchased their first annuity before they turned 65-years-old

Additionally, the survey found that 58 percent of annuity owners were women, as opposed to the 42 percent who were male.

Reversing a trend that had been seen during the previous two surveys taken, variable annuities proved to be more popular than fixed annuities, with 56 percent purchasing the former as opposed to only 44 percent who chose the latter. The proportion of fixed annuity purchases had increased 16 percentage points to 51 percent in the last survey taken in 2005.

According to CNNMoney, considering a variable annuity is recommended for elder consumers who need more money than they can receive from Social Security and various pensions.